


there's a million things I haven't done (but just you wait)

by unchaining_the_sakura (sakura_freefall)



Series: who lives who dies who tells your story (among us) [2]
Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Black says screw the rules, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Mira HQ (Among Us), Platonic Bonds, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Pre-Skeld, Red says screw the rules but only sometimes, School, Sneaking Out, breaking rules, rivals to friends, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakura_freefall/pseuds/unchaining_the_sakura
Summary: Of all the things Black expected to get from sneaking out at night, a friend was not one of them. But when two people are united in breaking the rules and risking expulsion, bonds tend to form.Or, Black breaks the rules, duct-tapes them back together, and makes an unexpected friend in the process.
Relationships: Black & Red (Among Us)
Series: who lives who dies who tells your story (among us) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984639
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	there's a million things I haven't done (but just you wait)

**Author's Note:**

> The next short from the Among Us series is still pre-Skeld (sorry), focusing on how Red and Black become friends.
> 
> Sadly we all know what happens to them later in the canon (see 'death doesn't discriminate') but for now, let the beans be happy!!
> 
> Also, I've decided that all the titles in this series will be from Hamilton songs. The lyrics just work sooo well...
> 
> Comments/Kudos always welcome :)

Black should not be doing this.

Barely a month after she got assigned to her crew, she's already breaking the rules. Leaving the dormitory after lights-out is strictly prohibited, unless it's an emergency. But how else is she supposed to swipe the flourescent paint she dips her hair in?

To be fair, she's not supposed to be dip-dying her hair. She's supposed to keep it the color she was assigned to, but hey, could you _blame_ her? It's not her fault that she got the color of her natural hair. And MIRA HQ had so much excess supplies that using a little bit of the paints isn't going to hurt anyone.

She's practiced this before, twice in her crew dorm and countless times in the younger kids' dorms. Insubordination, for her, comes as naturally as breathing. She looks around the room to confirm that everyone else is sleeping, and to the best of her knowledge, they all are. Although Red and Cyan's set of bunks is obscured by a shelf, she would've heard them if they'd gone anywhere. She quietly eases herself down the ladder and uses the spare ID card she took from one of the maintenance staff workers to buzz the door open, covering the lock with her hand to muffle the noise.

Shutting the door as quickly and quietly as possible, as for not to let the light in, she presses up against the wall before edging her way down the hall. For once, her dark uniform comes in handy, letting her blend into the shadows. She knows exactly where to turn, where to go, and how to get back as fast as possible. She dodges the viewfield of a security camera before slipping down a staircase and into the storage bay.

Careful not to topple anything, she rifles through the paint crate- the flourescent paints are supposed to be used for marking construction areas, but there's just so _much_ of it. Holding her breath, she grabs two jars of bright orangey pink and a third one that's neon green. Good. That should last her a few months, at least. She backs herself against the wall, letting out a sigh of relief, and prepares to sneak back into her dorm.

"Hey!" The shout isn't loud, it's more of a whisper-yell, but it makes Black whip her head around, mentally scrambling for a good alibi to tell the official, staff member, or teacher that's caught her out of bed. She's trying to decide between claiming that she got lost looking for the medbay and sleepwalking when her brain registers that it's not an authority, it's a fellow crewmate. Her fellow crewmate to be exact.

"Black, what are you doing? You aren't supposed to be out of dorms!"

"I could say the same to you, Red." She crosses her arms, squinting at the taller crewmate. What a hypocrite, she thinks to herself.

"Woah, no need to get like, defensive! I'm out here for a good reason!"

"What reason? Seems a bit... sus." Black's already slipping into the jargon and slang of the older crewmates, but the word still seems strange on her tongue.

"I forgot my Wiring textbook in the sim room! I have like, five pages due tomorrow!"

"You snuck out at night to get your _homework?"_

"Hey! Some of us here care about our education! And our futures!" Of course Red would be saying this. He's a hothead, always thinking about what's ahead, jumping from one idea to the next. He's usually decent towards Black, if a little snippy, but she doesn't really care either way.

"Well, we should probably head back. I mean, if we both got what we need," she suggests.

"Yeah, let's," he responds. He takes off down the hall, running in full view of the security feed. Black pulls him back at the last second.

"You _mindless brainworm!"_ she hisses. "You obviously have no clue what you're doing! That's a cam right there!"

"You mean... you've done this _before?"_ Red asks with a confused expression on his face.

"Yeah, obviously. Where do you think I got the paint from?"

"I don't know- I just assumed-"

"Shut up and move!" Black doesn't want this conversation to continue, doesn't want to have to explain how she does it for the thrill of breaking rules just as much as the acquisition of paint, how she feels an itch in her bones to stick it to the authorities, how constantly annoyed she is at the strictness of the rules...

"Okay, okay I'm moving- oh nyx, someone's coming!" The words cause Black's brain to freeze up, before feeling her heartbeat speed increase until it felt like it would leap right out of her chest.

Black has an idea. A dumb, absolutely preposterous idea, but an idea nonetheless. She pries the cover off a vent- it's surprisingly loose- and sticks her leg inside, feeling it tap against metal. "Red, get in the vents!"

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Black steels her nerves and slips feetfirst into the vent. It's cold and stuffy, and she can barely sit up in the narrow tube. A blob of color drops in after her, cursing under his breath as he slides the cover back on. 

"Why are we in the vents?"

"Shhh!" Black whispers. "Be quiet! They won't see us!" Red, thank goodness, stays quiet for once, and the only sound for a few minutes is the whoosh of the vent and their deep breaths. Slowly, the shadow on the wall passes, and the flashlight fades, meaning that whoever was out checking the halls has moved on. Black slowly pushes up the vent cover and drags herself out, sleepclothes covered in dust. Red shoves himself out after her, panting.

"C'mon now, let's get back to the dorm," Black says, and even though she's irritated, she can't help but smile a little. Red presses himself against the walls behind her, and with a click of the fake card, she's able to sneak both of them back to the dorm.

"Okay, this never happened," he whispers. "You won't rat on me, I won't rat on you."

"Agreed," Black says, and she has to stifle a laugh. "But if you ever need like, paint, or some extra paper, a screwdriver, batteries, whatever, hit me up."

"Will do." They shake on it, before climbing into their bunks to wait for morning.

The next day, nothing's changed. Red absolutely doesn't smile and wink at Black when he sees her newly orange-streaked hair, and she most definately doesn't grin back.


End file.
